ddition to the battle with his own uncertainty and with
his other surroundings; that you were firmly resolved that nothing
must thrive which you had not done and known in the same way; that you
regarded every impulse of thought as an insult to your intelligence;
and that you left no power unutilized to conquer in this battle
against improvement--and in fact you generally did prevail. Thus you
were the impeding power against all the improvements which kindly
nature offered us from her ever--youthful womb until you were
gathered to the dust which you were before, and until the succeeding
generations, which were at war with you, had become like unto you and
had adopted your attitude. Now, also, you need only conduct yourselves
as you have previously acted in case of all propositions for
amelioration; you need only again prefer to the general weal your
empty honor in order that there may be nothing between heaven and
earth that you have not already fathomed; then, through this last
battle, you are relieved from all further battle; no improvement
will accrue, but deterioration will follow in the footsteps of
deterioration, and thus there will be much satisfaction in reserve for
you.

No one will suppose that I despise and depreciate old age as old
age. If only the source of primitive life and of its continuance is
absorbed into life through freedom, then clarity--and strength with
it--increases so long as life endures. Such a life is easier to live;
the dross of earthly origin falls away more and ever more; it is
ennobled to the life eternal and strives toward it. The experience
of such an old age is irreconcilable with evil, and it only makes the
means clearer and the skill more adroit victoriously to battle against
wickedness. Deterioration through increasing age is simply the fault
of our time, and it necessarily results in every place where society
is much corrupted. It is not nature which corrupts us--she produces
us in innocence; it is society. He who has once surrendered to the
influence of society must naturally become ever worse and worse the
longer he is exposed to this influence. It would be worth the trouble
to investigate the history of other extremely corrupt generations in
this regard, and to see whether--for example, under the rule of the
Roman emperors--what was once bad did not continually become worse
with increasing age.

First of all, therefore, these addresses adjure you, old men and
experienced--you